One person and a dog were exposed to rabies in Glassboro after coming into contact with an infected bat on Tuesday — one of three animals in Gloucester County to test positive for the disease this week, according to public health officials.
The Gloucester County Health Department announced that in addition to the bat near Joseph L. Bowe Boulevard, raccoons found near Florence Avenue in Pitman and Quest Court in Mantua both tested positive for rabies on Thursday.
The agency is advising residents to make sure their pets are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations and to avoid contact with wildlife and stray animals.
Anyone bitten or scratched by a wild animal should wash the area with soap and water, seek medical attention, and contact local animal control or health officials.
Potential buyers can either continue operating the park, spanning more than 50 acres in Camden County, as an amusement destination or redevelop the property in a variety of ways, including as a hotel or for retail, residential, or entertainment uses, according to the property listing.
The public auction is set to begin Oct. 19 at noon with bids starting at $1.5 million, the listing shows. The 48-hour auction window is scheduled to close at noon on Oct. 21.
IB Parks & Entertainment bought the park for $2.37 million in the 2021 bankruptcy auction after financial struggles forced the park to shut down suddenly two years earlier.
“After five memorable years, we are saddened to announce that we have made the difficult decision to close the park and plan to offer the park for sale,” the company said in a statement announcing the closure on its website and social media accounts earlier this month. “It has been a privilege to care for a place that has meant so much to generations of families.”
At the time of the closure, the park was one of five amusement properties owned by the company, including West Berlin’s Sahara Sam’s.
IB Parks & Entertainment did not respond to requests for comment.
Clementon Park opened in 1907 as the brainchild of state Assembly member Theodore B. Gibbs and his sons and quickly became a popular destination for families across South Jersey.
After years of being independently owned by various families, the park was bought by its first private amusement park operation company in 2007.
With various management companies at the helm over the next decade, the park expanded significantly with the addition of new thrill rides, children’s attractions, and a 23,000-square-foot wave pool.
Willingboro is finally ready to raise the curtain on the township’s new arts and culture venue with its first performance on Saturday.
The celebration for the opening of the new 570-seat Willingboro Performing Arts Center, located in the Kennedy Center, will kick off with a performance by R&B group Atlantic Starr.
Crews transformed what was previously the high school auditorium into a revamped space designed for concerts, theatre productions, dance performances, lectures, and more.
The venue “is envisioned as a premier community gathering place where residents and visitors can enjoy concerts, theatrical productions, cultural programs, family entertainment, community events, and other performing arts experiences,” the township said in a press release announcing the opening.
Another highlight of the new space is that it gives Burlington County residents the chance to see world-class performances without needing to cross the bridge into Philadelphia, theater manager Bobby Duckett said.
“We want to invite everybody from the region to come by and see what we do,” Duckett said.
Following years of informal discussion about creating a hub for the performing arts in town, the effort to build the new concert hall started in earnest around 2023, Willingboro spokesperson Tanya Jackson said. The project cost around $2 million, with about half from township capital funds and half from state funding, she said.
“Willingboro is the home of many talented artists and performers, and we just wanted to create a space for residents and surrounding community members to come together to experience music and theatre, cultural programming, and those types of things,” Jackson said. “Willingboro is an ideal place for a performing arts center just based on all of the great talent that has come through this community.”
After opening night, the new venue has two more shows currently scheduled for this fall: a concert by R&B group The Manhattans on Oct. 24 and a performance by percussionist Tito Puente Jr. on Nov. 20.
“Willingboro has a very rich legacy in the entertainment world,” Duckett said. “[The center is] about bringing those people back to be a part of it as we develop the next generation of talented people from this community.”
A large part of South Jersey’s sprawling Pine Barrens region will be the focus of a new climate change study.
The Burlington County Southwest Pinelands Regional Resiliency Study will assess the climate change threats facing Evesham, Medford, Medford Lakes, Shamong, and Tabernacle, and it will be led by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in partnership with Burlington County and the nonprofit Pinelands Alliance.
The study will also include suggestions for how these towns can better recover from future climate events such as wildfires, floods, heatwaves, and more.
“Climate change is no longer abstract or theoretical; it’s now a physical reality impacting our communities and infrastructure,” Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said in a statement. “No part of Burlington County is immune, and Burlington County’s Pinelands towns are increasingly at risk from more frequent and intense wildfires, inland flooding, droughts, heatwaves, storms, and other impacts from climate change.”
Experts will utilize climate and environmental data, impacts from past weather events, and more to identify the region’s climate vulnerabilities and develop resiliency action plans, according to a statement from the county.
Burlington County and each of the participating towns will also be eligible for up to $350,000 in grant funding from the NJDEP to put the resiliency plans in place.
The county expects to begin work on the study in early 2027 and to conduct various workshops and surveys to get public input, said Burlington County spokesperson David Levinsky.
The previous study took a little more than a year to complete, Levinsky said, and officials predict that the timeline for the forthcoming work will be similar.
“The Route 130 Corridor Study generated substantial public input and engagement from our Delaware River communities and resulted in recommendations for each municipality to take to mitigate climate change threats,” Eckel said. “We’re excited to partner with the NJDEP again on this new study focused on our Pinelands towns and the climate challenges unique to them. We’re hoping to get the same kind of public engagement, and that the end result is an action plan that helps these communities become better prepared.”
Both studies are part of the agency’s Resilient NJ program, established in 2014 to help communities across the state plan for potential climate change impacts.
Camden has sued the long-beleaguered scrap metal recycler EMR after it says it failed to donate more than a million dollars promised to the communityin an agreement last summer.
U.K.-based EMR Advanced Recycling signed anAugust 2025 memorandum of understanding with the city, in response to a massive fire earlier that year, agreeing to gift more than $3 million to local initiatives through 2030. This would come in the formof an initial $1 million donation into a community benefits fund,followed by annual payments of $450,000 for five years.
The city claims that EMR still has not paid its initial contribution or the first of its annual payments to the newly created EMR Community Benefits Fund, as of the lawsuit’s filing on Sept. 25. But the company says it has allocated just under $2.3 million to a separate EMR Camden Community Investment Fund since 2023, and believes that money should count.
Administered by the Community Foundation of South Jersey, the new fund is intended for community improvement initiatives in Camden, especially for residents in the Waterfront South neighborhood who have been most impacted by EMR.
EMR, in a statement, pointed to the Community Foundation fund’s current $2.3 million balance as proof that they have been making payments for years. The filing states that the company has made 35 payments total, 22 of which came in before the 2025 agreement.
But because the majority of the payments were made prior to 2025, William Tambussi, a lawyer for the city of Camden, argues that the $2.3 million is entirely unrelated to the money that is owed through the agreement.
“There’s two different funds,” Tambussi said. “For them to suggest that the money that they have been depositing since 2023 was agreed on as the deposit for the MOU — that’s just disingenuous.”
Joe Balzano, the CEO of EMR Metal Recycling USA, says the company has met its obligations up to this point and is now just waiting on the city to move forward with distributing the money. The company said in a statement that is “eagerly awaiting votes from the City-appointed MOU Committee members” to award funds to various organizations in the Waterfront South neighborhood.
“I find some of this stuff abhorrent when you see some of the issues that are plaguing some of the residents of Waterfront South, and we’re ready, willing, able, and trying to distribute some much-needed help, and we’re struggling to get that accomplished,” Balzano said in an interviewMonday.
“The Community Fund of South Jersey was the designated fund in the MOU, which we put $2.3 million in,” he said. “I think Mr. Tambussi is taking a very difficult read when we pre-funded the account.”
“Mr. Tambussi was not in the negotiations that we had with the city, [he] was not present for those,” Balzano said, implying that the city was aware this is how the funds would be used. “And we did everything that we were intending to do and have done more.”
Tambussi argues that it would have been impossible for EMR to prepay into the MOU fund because it didn’t yet exist. The agreement only came about after the February 2025 fire, he said, which the company would have no way of predicting.
“For them to say that this is pre-funded is really astounding because they would have to assume that they were going to have an obligation in the future — an obligation that stemmed from this critical fire,” Tambussi said.
EMR has not officially responded to the filing in court, but the city is requesting a jury trial in the case.
The sprawling recycling operation has five facilities in the neighborhood and has experienced more than a dozen fires in the last six years, including a lithium-ion battery-caused fire that prompted the evacuation of 100 families last year.
In addition to creating the EMR Camden Community Benefits Fund, the agreement also requires that the company install a state-of-the-art fire suppression system, consolidate its facilities into a smaller footprint, and create an emergency notification system for residents in case of a fire or other emergency at the facility.
Only a handful of new traffic signals and some final paving work are left on the to-do list for the $155.1 million safety improvement project that essentially rebuilt a roughly 9-mile stretch of the highway.
In addition to repaving the road from Route 38 in Pennsauken to Cooper Avenue in Marlton, the work included new gas and water mains, traffic signal upgrades at 27 intersections, sidewalk and drainage improvements, and more.
“The investment NJDOT is making will help improve travel times, relieve congestion, and increase safety on this key roadway through Camden County, and these improvements are expected to benefit more than motorists,” said NJDOT spokesperson Steve Schapiro told the Inquirer this week.
“Reconstructed sidewalks and concrete curbs will mean improved safety for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable roadways users,” he said. “Updated utilities, improved drainage and replaced culverts will ensure resiliency along the corridor and help to mitigate inclement weather events that may cause flooding.”
Over the next month, the final six traffic signals will be installed along the highway after “several utility-related delays” previously held up the work, Schapiro said.
The signal work is expected to be completed in October, he said, and will be followed by re-striping and paving in two remaining work zones.
First, the agency aims to finish repaving Route 70 between the Grove Street/Haddonfield Road intersection and Route 38 this fall, weather permitting, Schapiro said.
The final unfinished section of highway stretching from Route 295 to Cropwell Road, will be repaved this fall“where necessary, with final paving scheduled for next spring,” he said.
NJDOT is also working with Camden County on additional landscaping work to be conducted in the spring, he said.
When the Three Little Birds Cafe is mixed in among other vendorsat local parks and festivals, it might be hard to tell at first that it’s not your average food truck.
Staffed entirely by people with disabilities, the food truck not only serves handmade American classics — think chicken tenders, smash burgers, and fries — but also embodies the values of the Arc of Camden County.
For nearly 80 years, the Berlin Borough nonprofit has been supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
Today, the Arc provides services ranging from adult day programs to residential care with round-the-clock supervision for hundreds of people across South Jersey, said Michelle Schwarz, a finance specialist with the Arc of Camden County who handles the food truck’s licensing.
And while the food truck is a great place to grab some hand-breaded chicken wings for lunch, it also serves as a stepping stone for individuals hoping to eventually gain meaningful employment in the community.
Launched in the summer of 2025 as part of the organization’s occupational training program, the food truck offers hands-on work experience in food service, allowing people to develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed in a restaurant or commercial kitchen, Schwarz said.
The best way to connect people with jobs where they will thrive is to approach each person as an individual, she said, understanding that where one person may excel, another may struggle.
The Three Little Birds Cafe food truck serves as a rolling advertisement for the Arc of Camden County, a local nonprofit that provides services for individuals with disabilities.Courtesy of The Arc of Camden County
“We believe everyone has different skills,” she said. “Just because somebody can’t use their legs and they’re in a wheelchair, that doesn’t mean that they can’t go and work for a hotel and fold towels and put pillows in pillowcases.”
By providing training in various industries, including janitorial services and product assembly, the Arc has been able to connect countless people with jobs, she said.
The food truck was initially envisioned to serve primarily as a mobile advertisement for the organization, she said, with a QR code linking to the Arc’s website on the back to educate the public on its mission and potentially boost donations.
But it has been so popular — both in the community and within the nonprofit — the Three Little Birds Cafe has expanded into the cafeteria at the Arc’s occupational training center in Berlin.
Launching as a food truck in 2025, Three Little Birds Cafe has since expanded into the kitchen of the Arc of Camden County’s occupational training center in Berlin Borough, N.J.Courtesy of The Arc of Camden County
Under the expert guidance of kitchen and food truck manager Dana Bradley, individuals have not only learned how to keep a restaurant running smoothly, but also started to learn to cook for themselves.
“You immediately saw a shift in their confidence,” Schwarz said. “They were so excited to come in and learn something.”
After spending a couple of years as a group home manager with the organization, Bradley saw Three Little Birds as a way to tap into the passion for cooking that she developed working at Corinne’s Place, her mother’s award-winning soul food restaurant in Camden.
“I just love to cook,” Bradley said. Before she officially took over the cafeteria in 2025, she would often make elaborate meals at the Arc with whatever she could find lying around.
Now in charge of the Arc’s large commissary-style kitchen, Bradley is helping train people to work in kitchens across the region.
So far, three people have moved on from the Arc to work in restaurants and commercial kitchens in Camden and Gloucester Counties, Schwarz said.
“Here, we just really believe that everyone has abilities, and we focus on their abilities rather than their disabilities,” she said.
Bordered by a riverfront park to the north and Broad Street to the south, a roughly quarter-mile stretch of High Street has long been the commercial heart of Burlington City.
Today, the historic corridor is still home to the traditional businesses that locals expect downtown, like law offices and insurance agencies, but the street is also showing signs of new life as taprooms, art studios, and more have begun moving in.
Yet mixed in among all of these businesses, both old and new, remains a smattering of closed or vacant storefronts. Tucked between bustling barber shops and antique stores, some buildings are boarded up entirely while others still boast sun-faded window displays.
A “permanently closed” sign is posted to the front door of Waitz Jewelers at 320 High St. in Burlington, N.J. on Sept. 1, 2026.Lacey Latch
It’s these empty storefronts that are, in part, holding Burlington back from reaching its full potential, according to the New London Alliance (NLA), a neighborhood group based just south of Broad Street.
The group argues that the number of inactive storefronts makes the area feel unwelcome for pedestrians, especially at night, said NLA member Donnamarie Mazzola.
In an effort to address this, the group is calling for dedicated police foot patrols downtown — not necessarily because crime is increasing, Mazzola said, but to help create a more comfortable environment for locals and visitors alike.
“We’re asking the city to consider restoring regular police foot patrols and community policing downtown,” Mazzola said. “We believe having officers present and engaging with residents, businesses, and visitors can help strengthen both public safety and the relationship between the police and the community.”
A sidewalk along High Street in downtown Burlington was largely empty in the early afternoon of Sept. 1, 2026.Lacey Latch
Simply knowing cops are walking around downtown might be enough to make people feel more safe to do the same, she said.
“We have a huge problem with abandoned buildings and absentee landlords, so our downtown is nowhere near the kind of vibrant downtown that people would love,” she said. “And it kind of detracts from that sense of safety and walkability that people really come here searching for.”
Since the NLA began circulating a community petition at the end of July, Mazzola said, the group has collected a few hundred signatures in support of the foot patrols.
The petition itself, Mazzola said, is essentially a way to come to city officials with hard data demonstrating a desire for these services beyond just the NLA.
“We’re hoping that [the petition] sends a signal to the mayor that this is an important priority for the community and that he then kicks off an initiative with the stakeholders and community input,” she said.
While it is still just an idea, some longtime High Street business owners are already on board.
After more than two decades operating Virtu Millinery & Accessories on the corner of Union Street, Marie Salter recently began locking her front door after a frightening incident with someone who appeared to be suffering from mental illness, she said.
Marie Salter’s specialty hat boutique, Virtu Millinery & Accessories, has been on High Street in Burlington for more than 20 years. Salter said she would welcome community foot patrols in the area.Lacey Latch
If police were walking around the area throughout the day, it might prevent a similar situation from happening again, she said.
“I would welcome it,” Salter said of possible foot patrols outside her boutique hat shop. “I could keep my door open.”
Down the block, Philip Augustyn, another longtime High Street business owner, agreed that it would be a welcome sight.
Augustyn and his wife, Maryanne, have operated Philip’s Antiques & Furniture at 307 High St. for more than 20 years — enough time to remember “years and years ago” when police would regularly walk by, Philip Augustyn said.
“I’ve been here a long time,” he said. “There’s not a lot of crime down here to begin with, but I think people would just feel better to see the police walking up and down. The merchants, plus any of the tourists or local people, they’d like to see the police on patrol.”
A few stores down, Olde City Quilts co-owner Rob Engime also looked back fondly on a time when foot patrols were commonplace in the area.
In the early years of their shop, Engime said, he and his wife would sometimes get calls from police officers who noticed their storefront was unlocked as they made their nightly patrols. Once, when cops found the door cracked open, they walked a police dog through the property just to make sure no one had broken in, he said.
A storefront available for lease on High Street in Burlington, N.J. on Sept. 1, 2026.Lacey Latch
There was a neighborly energy with law enforcement at the time, he said, in large part because locals often recognized officers from growing up in the city.
“It was great,” Engime said of that time. “It did have a sense that it was much friendlier.”
After 20 years on what he calls “the busiest street that doesn’t go anywhere,” Engime said, he still loves the neighborhood but would welcome the return of the foot patrols he used to know.
“It was a lot of fun and we felt a connection with them,” he said. “But now you never see them.”
It is unclear when Burlington last had dedicated foot patrols downtown or if the department has the staffing capabilities to have any officers on foot. The Burlington City Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“Obviously I’m sure any police department would love to have enough staffing to have somebody on every corner,” Burlington Mayor Barry Conaway said. “But we know that’s not reality.”
Two shuttered storefronts sit side by side on High Street in Burlington, N.J. on Sept. 1, 2026.Lacey Latch
When asked about the NLA’s petition, Conaway said he was unable to comment more specifically on the matter until it is officially filed with the city.
But he did share the group’s desire to bring more pedestrians downtown.
“Every small town, including Burlington, wants to have more foot traffic downtown,” Conaway said, noting that the River Line and nearby bus stops give the city a unique opportunity to bring in people.
Amid the community’s efforts to boost foot traffic along High Street, the belief held by many residents and business owners — that crime downtown is not increasing — is hard to verify.
The city did not respond to a public records request seeking crime statistics specifically for this stretch of High Street and instead referred the request to the New Jersey State Police. The state police in turn pointed to Burlington’s citywide crime statistics, which are compiled annually.
Still collecting signatures, the NLA plans to finally bring the petition to city officials in the fall, Mazzola said. In the meantime, she said, the group is working to get the proposal in front of as many residents as possible.
“In Burlington, there are pockets of community groups that are very, very interested in making Burlington better, and the NLA is really one of those groups,” Mazzola said.
“There’s just so much potential that’s been untapped,” she said.
Efforts to create safer conditions along Haddon Avenue began Monday — the first phase of Camden County’s $3.5 million pedestrian safety improvement project that stretches from Collingswood to Haddon Township.
Starting Sept. 21 at the intersection of Haddon Avenue and Cuthbert Boulevard, crews will be working between Strawbridge and Bryant Avenues for the next six to eight weeks, according to the county.
Drivers in the area should prepare for lane closures from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays for the duration of construction, county officials advised. During that time, there could also be restrictions and detours on some turns, they said.
Cuthbert Boulevard is one of four intersections along Haddon Avenue that are slated for traffic signal improvements as part of the project alongside Collings, Crystal Lake, and Maple Avenues.
Repairs at the intersections will also include upgrades to various pedestrian facilities such as fresh pavement and improved sidewalk ramps.
For this initial phase of the project, crews will repair the deteriorated pavement at the Cuthbert Boulevard intersection, county spokesperson Morgan Callan said in an email.
Once the new traffic signals and other equipment arrive next spring, Callan said, construction will then begin at all four intersections and is expected to last two to three months.
After decades as a popular hang-out for generations of Oaklyn kids, the aging hockey rink and adjacent basketball court at Oaklyn-Lions Park have both closed because of safety concerns.
Oaklyn Borough officials announced the closures at the Sept. 8 council meeting following an annual safety inspection that recommended the areas be closed because of concerns about the surface, boards, and fencing. The courts closed the following day and it’s unclear how long the repairs could take and how much they’ll cost.
Currently cordoned off by temporary fencing and caution tape, the wooden boards around the rink have come apart in various spots as weeds have sprouted through cracks on the surface.
The outdoor hockey rink at Oaklyn-Lions Park could be seen cordoned off on Sept. 17 after being closed due to safety concerns.Lacey Latch
Right behind one of the hockeynets, two holes in the boards and gaps in the upper protective fencing — all large enough for street hockey balls and pucks to soar through — directly face a neighboring playground.
On the basketball court, only one backboard remains standing — albeit crookedly.
But in spite of the current state of things, the area was still being used up until the sudden closure last week, said lifelong Oaklyn resident Alex Lewis, 36.
Like many other Oaklyn kids, Lewis grew up playing soccer at the hockey rink that for years was informally used for both sports.
“We had this really vibrant soccer-loving community,” Lewis said.
“It was so much the thing to do for our group that if we had a three-day weekend for school, we’d be down there all three nights playing soccer until we basically couldn’t walk anymore,” he said. “It was incredible.”
Eventually, the long-standing shared use of the space was paused in 2006 when an ordinance was passed banning all non-hockey equipment within the rink, Lewis said.
The ordinance has remainedin place since then and precipitated a noticeable drop in the rink’s usage, Lewis said.
“There was still a vibrant hockey-playing community, as there should be, which is awesome,” Lewis said. “But the overall use of the court declined and the quality of the court and the upkeep of the court itself declined over that same amount of time.”
That steady decline has been clear to Lewis and others who spent years playing at the park.
Large holes in the boards and gaps in the protective fencing can be see at the outdoor hockey rink at Oaklyn-Lions Park on Sept. 17.Lacey Latch
Another lifelong Oaklyn resident Billy Gamba, 29, was one of the many hockey players who spent countless hours at the rink learning the fundamentals of the sport.
Almost every night growing up, Gamba and his friends would descend on the rink, he said, honing their skills and eventually passing them on to the players coming up behind them through impromptu clinics.
“We would just meet down there and we pick teams and just play for all hours of the day and throughout the night,” Gamba said.
The rink wasn’t only a draw for Oaklyners either, he said, attracting players fromother communities, including Audubon, Collingswood, and Haddon Township.
In spite of its heavy use over the years, Gamba said he doesn’t remember any major repairs taking place at the rink in his lifetime, save for a quick patch-job when he was about 10 years old.
“I used to play down there like four or five nights a week and it just got worse and worse over time,” he said.
“Over the years I stopped playing because I don’t want to get hurt down here,” Gamba said. “I’ve seen guys get seriously hurt down there, whether their stick gets caught in the boards and they jab themselves in the stomach or their wheels or skates catch that deep crack and they fall.”
Just like Lewis, Gamba, and countless other residents, Oaklyn Mayor Greg Brandley has memories as a kid on the courts.
“Growing up in Oaklyn, I played on those courts my whole life as a little kid so it’s very sad to see this happen right now,” Brandley said of the closures.
“It’s something for the kids that we have to get reopened again,” he said.
But repairs won’t be as simple as just pouring a new layer of concrete, Brandley said.
Only one backboard remains standing on the basketball court at Oaklyn-Lions Park, pictured here on Sept. 17.Lacey Latch
Because the rink has a special surface, he said, the borough will have to consult with engineers on the necessary work and the estimated cost. After that, the discussion will then shift to how to find money for the project in the budget, he said.
As a result, it’s still much too early to put a realistic timeline or price tag on the project, he said.
With that said, Lewis has already gotten a jump on the process.
Last fall, Lewis and the semipro soccer club he founded, Oaklyn United FC, organized a tournament at the courts to help fundraise for the needed repairs.
While the money raised was “just a drop in the bucket” toward the tens of thousands of dollars that will likely be needed for the repairs, Lewis said, it was about trying to give back to “this public resource that in many ways was kind of the birthplace of OUFC.”
And while he’s disappointed that the courts deteriorated to the point of closing, he’s eager tohelpfix it up and make it even better.
With soccer gaining popularity in the U.S., Lewis noted that it could be the perfect time to formalize the shared-use of the court for both hockey and soccer, which is as simple as painting a few extra lines, he said.
“We’re talking about restoring a public asset that if it doesn’t get restored, it’s just kind of sitting there in this blighted state in what is otherwise kind of the center of the universe for our town,” Lewis said.
